PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines — A distraught mother jumped off a Dipolog City-bound boat with her eight-month baby girl in her arms early on Friday.
Medical doctors on board the vessel, MV Lady of Joy, revived the infant after the crew rescued them.
Dr. Ramon Blancia, a resident at the Zamboanga del Sur Integrated Provincial Health Office, posted the incident on his Facebook page. He and his wife, Dra. Maria Rovel Blancia were also passengers of the ship.
Dr. Blancia said that after jumping off the boat, the crew rushed to rescue the two while “a lady doctor who was also aboard the ship did CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on the (unconscious) baby.”
“A male passenger allowed us to use his newly purchased suction machine,” he added. “We saved the baby and the mother.”
The doctor added that upon arrival at the port of Dipolog, the baby and the mother were brought to the nearest hospital for further treatment.
A report by CDN Digital in Cebu City said the mother, 34, jumped off the ship shortly before 7 a.m. as they were nearing the Galas Port in Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte.
The ship’s crew later found out that the mother was distraught after she argued with her husband earlier and was not in her right frame of mind when she jumped overboard.
The Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG-7) said the ship left Cebu City for Dipolog at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 30.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Michael John Encina, PCG-7 spokesperson, said that the mother was seen carrying her infant and anxiously walking along the ship’s corridor near the railings at around 6 a.m. on May 31.
Some of the crewmen later saw the mother jump off the ship with the baby still in her arms. The crewmen immediately threw a life ring near the mother and her child.
They then informed the ship’s captain, Captain Neil Mark Amto, who promptly turned the ship around and ordered the crew to rescue the mother and the baby. It took them 20 minutes to rescue the two.
The MV Lady of Joy docked at the Gala port at 7:33 a.m. and the Dipolog Coast Guard, together with the Dipolog City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Team (DCDRRMO), rushed the mother and the baby to the hospital. (Editor: Eden Estopace)